Catenary hanger.



W. C. YSTARKEY.

CATENARY HANGER.

APPLICATION FILED sEPT.22. 19I5.

Patented Dec. 5, 1916.

@TA@ FATE WILLIAM C. STARKEY, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE OHIO BRASS COMPANY, OF MANSFIELD, OHIO, A. CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

CATENARY HANG-ER.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 5, 11916.

Application filed September 22, 1915. Serial No. 51,927.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, WILLIAM C. STARKEY, a citizen of the United States, residing in Mansfield, in the county of Richland and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Catenary Hangers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to catenary hangers designed especially for use in connection with trolley wires, but applicable to other electrical conductors, and to other wires or cables that are suspended in substantially horizontal position.

The invention consists of the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and more particularly set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawingsFigure 1 is a side elevation of a catenary hanger embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation looking to the left in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View on line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of one of the jaws of the trolley wire clamp. Fig. 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a modified form of hanger. Fig. 7 is a section on line 77 of Fig. 6.

In the installation of trolley wires and other electrical conductors, it is a common practice to provide messenger or suspension cables which are supported at various points along the line, and which hang between the points of support in a catenary curve. The conductor or trolley wire is suspended from the messenger by a series of hangers spaced at comparatively short intervals along the line, and in order to support/the conductor in a substantially straight line the hangers are made of different lengths to compensate for the curve in the messenger wire. WVhen the plans for a trolley line have been completed, it has been customary for the manufacturer to supply hangers of the proper number and lengths for the installation of the line, but it nearly always happens that when it comes to the actual installation more or less changes are made in the original plans, which, of course, make it necessary to make corresponding changes in the catenary hangers. Heretofore this has necessitated the return of the hangers to the factory to have them altered in length, or the disstitution of new ones.

Another difficulty has been experienced in the installation of hangers as heretofore constructed, in that it has usually been necessary to remove and replace the bolt and nut which are used for clamping the trolley wire in the jaws of the hanger, in order to release the arms of the hanger so that they could be placed in position over the messenger wire. This has proven to be a very serious matter in making installations during cold weather, especially in the northern districts where the workmen are compelled to wear gloves. To restart a nut on a bolt, properly meshing thethreads with one another, is not an easy matter in cold weather with gloves on, and where this must be done over and over again hundreds of times in the installation of a trolley line it entails a great loss of time and labor.

The present invention is intended, among other things, to overcome the above enumerated difficulties, and to improve in other ways upon catenary hangers as now constructed.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 5 of the drawings, the numerals 1 represent a metal rod having a U-shaped bend 2 at its upper end to form a support or hanger bar for the trolley wire clamp. The clamp proper comprises a pair of jaw members 3 arranged to be held face to face with one another by a bolt L, having a nut 5 thereon. At the'lower portion of each of the jaw members 3 is an extension or ridge 6, arranged to enter a corresponding longitudinal groove in the trolley wire 7. W hen the wire is in position with the ridges or teeth 6 in position in the grooves in the wire, and the nut clamped in place, it will be apparent that the trolley wire will be firmly held between the jaws of the hanger. The jaws are provided at their upper portion with inwardly extending proj ections 8, which bear against one another to form a fulcrum about which the jaws turn as they are pressed inwardly toward one a11- other by the bolt t. Each of the aws 3 has an inwardly extending lug 9 projecting from the extension 8, which is arranged to enter a corresponding recess in the cooperating jaws to properly locate the two jaws relative to one another. At the upper exterior portion of each of the jaws 3 is an inwardly extending recess 10, having the form of an inverted T. Just below the recess a rectangular opening 11 extends entirely through the aw. The hanger rods 1 are bent inwardly at the lower ends, as shown at 12 in Fig. 3, and the lower extremities of the bentin portions are provided with T-heads 13.

When the rods are in'place the T-heads 13 fit in the T-shaped recesses 10,the lateral extensions of the T-head 13 bearing against the shoulders of the recesses 10 to provide a firm support for the clamping jaws. Then the bolt 4 is placed in position in the openings '11, the head 14 of the bolt will bear against one of the T-heads of the supporting bar 1, and the nut 5 will hold the other T- head in position. A spring washer 16 may be placed under the nut 5 to form a substantial lock for the nut, and toprevent any play of the parts. When it is desired to place a hanger in position, the nut 5 is run backwardly on the bolt 1 a sutiicient distance to permit the'T-head 13 to be sprung out of the recess 10, and thus'allow the hanger bar l'to be removed from the clamp.. To accomplish this it is not necessary to entirely remove the nut 5, but to simply loosen it by running it backwardly on the bolt, leaving it still threaded on the end of the bolt. iVhen the hanger is thus disengaged from the clamp it is simply hooked over the messenger wire, so that the U-shaped portion 2 is supported by the wire and the T-head .13 again inserted in'the recess 10. After this has'been done the nut 5 is again run back into place on the bolt while the trolley Wire 15 is held in position between the jaws of the clamp. hen the nut has been tightened the trolley wire is firmly clamped between the jaws, and the same pressure which presses the jaws together on the trolley wire 7 bears upon the T-heads 13 of the hanger bar to holdthe clamp and bar rigidly connected with one another. It is thus seen that the hanger may be entirely installed without the necessity of taking the nut from its bolt, and the inconvenience of again bringing the threads of the nut into proper'engageme nt with those of the bolt. If, because of changes in the plans for the trolley line, it

I becomes necessary to change the length of any of the hangers, the rods may be easily detached froin'the clamps and new rods of different lengths substituted, or the lengths of the old rods altered to suit the new conditions.

In Figs. 6 and 7 a modified form of the hanger is shown, inrwhich flat instead of round hanger bars are employed. In the form shown in these figures the bars 17 are the form of metal straps, which have openings 18 near the lower end thereof in position to cooperate with outwardly extending lugs 19 formed near the upper portion of the clamping jaws 3. The bars 17 lit into the recesses 20 in the jaws 3, to prevent lateral movement of the jaws and bars relative to one another. The straps 17 are held in place by the bolt a in a manner similar to that of the T-heads 13 in the form previously described. The operation of this form of the invention is essentially the same as that of the form previously described, and it is believed will be obvious from the drawings and description.

Many detail modifications and changes of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit thereof, and I therefore do not wish to confine myself in any way to the details as shown and described.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a trolley wire hanger, a wire clamp having separate clamping jaws; a fastening device; and a suspension member with pa rallel arms each of which is separately held by and in engagement with one of the jaws by the said device.

2. A catenary wire hanger comprising a wire clamp having separate clamping members; a fastening device for said clamping members; and a. suspension member for loosely hanging the wire clamp from a support having pa *allel arms each of which is held in engagement with one of the clamping members when the fastening device presses the clamping members against a wire.

3. In a trolley wire hanger, a wire clamp having a pair of clamping jaws; a fastening device for said jaws; and a suspension member with parallel arms each of which has a projection at the end separately engaged by the fastening device and pressed by it against one of the clamping jaws when the fastening device is tightened.

1. In a trolley wire hanger, a pair of perforated clamping jaws having a recess adjacent the perforation; a fastening device extending through the perforations of the jaws; and a suspension member having parallel arms with enlarged extremities both of which are pressed by the fastening device into the recesses of the clamping jaws when the fastening device is tightened against them.

5. In a trolley wire hanger, a pair of perforated clamping jaws having engage-able portions adjacent the perforations; a fastening device for pressing the clamping jaws together; and a suspension member with parallel arms and projections at the ends adapted to be held against the engageable adjacent the perforation; a fastening device comprising a fastening bolt and a nut; and a suspension member having parallel arms to fit loosely over a suspension wire and with headed extremities which cooperate with the said engageable portion and are held in engagement therewith by the fastening device when the nut is tightened on the bolt thereof.

7 In a trolley wire hanger, a pair of trolley wire clamping jaws having T-shaped recesses in the upper portion thereof; a bolt arranged to extend through openings in said jaws to hold said jaws in clamping engagement with a trolley wire; a suspension device having two downwardly extending suspension arms provided with T-shaped heads at the ends thereof, adapted for interlocking engagement with said T-shaped recesses, and arranged to lie beneath the head and nut of said bolt respectively and to be held thereby in interlocking engagement with said clamping jaws.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, on this 21st day of September, A. D. 1915.

WILLIAM C. STARKE Y.

Witnesses:

K. JOHNSON, 'G. W. COOPER.

Uopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Eatents, Washington, JD. 0. 

